


Semantics

by fandomfix



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, Super Cliche Fluff, The Author Regrets Nothing, not sure when this is set
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 13:41:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9327269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomfix/pseuds/fandomfix
Summary: There's a world of difference betweencarefulandbe careful.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw [this](http://fandomfix8.tumblr.com/post/155840789037/jeusus-be-careful-ren) art, and got thinking about how adding the word "be" to the beginning of that sentence really does change the interpretation. This little ficlet is my thoughts on that. It is smol and written in about an hour, but I like how it came out :D

There’s a stark difference between _then_ and _now._

Kylo hasn’t figured out how it happened yet, but he knows it’s there.

“Careful, Ren.”

He’d grown to hate those words over the years he’s worked with General Hux. There was something so condescending about them, even when Hux pretended at courteousness.

Kylo didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what those two words implied.

_Careful you don’t say something dangerous or stupid. Careful you don’t say something that will cause me to kill you because we both know I could. Careful you don’t make such a huge mistake that even your Master will have no choice but to be rid of you, finally._

He isn’t stupid. His parents were…what they were, but they didn’t raise a stupid son. He never had to dip into Hux’s mind to hear all the things included in those two words. To experience the self-loathing that those words caused.

But then things started changing.

He can’t place the hour or the spot that started the shifting of their dynamic. All he knew was one day he looked at Hux and didn’t feel the slick coil of disgust in his belly. Didn’t feel the low-burning self-hatred that Hux’s harsh eyes normally caused.

He looked at the man, and just saw a man. A quietly lovely man that he didn’t even have the barest taste of dislike for anymore.

And in exchange, Hux also changed.

The man hid his emotions well. You never knew whether he had opinions about you, unless he _wanted_ you to know his opinions. It was one of the only things Kylo would admit to always liking about him. Even when he despised Hux, he always knew where they stood.

Because Hux could never hide his thoughts when he spoke. His words betrayed him.

Kylo was leaving. It was only for a few days, but it was also in enemy space. And he was going alone. And Snoke was still angry with him for the most recent failure.

Needless to say, Kylo wasn’t completely sure how this mission would go.

And as he walked down the hall to the shuttle bay, he ran into the General. On any other day, they never publicly acknowledged each other unless necessary. But this time, Hux stopped right there in the middle of a busy corridor and stood in front of him.

“Yes, Hux?” He asked, surprising even himself at the polite tone of his voice.

Hux looked at him, taking him apart with his impassive eyes. His lips tightened in a grimace.

“Be careful, Ren.”

The man nodded, turning and walking swiftly away, acting as if nothing happened.

But that little word changed the entire meaning of the sentence.

Instead of _careful you don’t fuck up_ , it became something softer. _Be careful you don’t get hurt. Be careful you don’t become trapped or lost._

_Be careful you don’t die._

Kylo didn’t know what to do with that. He didn’t know if he was meant to do anything with that. All he knew was that Hux never spoke without purpose. The only way to know Hux’s feelings was his words.

And he might have just told Kylo he didn’t want him dead.

He turned, hoping he hadn’t looked like a total idiot standing in the middle of the hall. Sweeping away in the opposite direction of Hux, he couldn’t stop thinking. There was a coil building in his stomach, but it wasn’t slick with disgust. It was warm and frightening and something completely different.

He would simply have to ensure he returned to figure out what it was.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hey on [tumblr](http://fandomfix8.tumblr.com)!


End file.
